What is meant by “an ayah from the Quran was abrogated” in the Hadith that mentions the story of the Prophet, may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him, sending groups from Banu Sulaym to Banu ‘Amir, and in which the Companions said after their martyrdom: “Convey to our people that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us and has pleased us,” then it was abrogated?

There is no problem with the hadith according to the Sunnis, as they believe in the existence of verses whose recitation and ruling were abrogated, or whose recitation only was abrogated, or whose ruling only was abrogated. Abrogation is of four types:

1. Verses that the Companions memorized and recited, then their recitation and ruling were abrogated, but they remained in their hearts, such as the verse regarding prohibition by ten sucklings.

2. Verses that the Companions memorized and recited, then their recitation and ruling were abrogated, and they were removed from their hearts, such as verses from Surat Al-Ahzab that were equivalent to Al-Baqarah.

3. Verses whose wording was removed but their ruling remained, such as the verse of stoning.

4. Verses whose ruling was removed but their wording continued to be recited, such as the verses permitting alcohol.

The phrase mentioned in the hadith ("Inform our people that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and we are pleased with Him") was a Quranic verse that was recited, then its recitation was abrogated.